RUGBY

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 12 September 1925, Page 14

RUGBY

•f: ‘very early history. '•'reference TO MR. ROCHE, OF HAWERA. ' ii'ln some, comments by the- compiler of the record of the tour of the Maori ; team of ISBB, issued in 1896, the ’jfriter, Mr. T. Eyton, says, inter alia: :!‘My first remembrance of football — Jißugiby or otherwise —was 1 at the Royal • Naval School, England, and at Black* ;;ireath, subsequently in this colony, in a ; match played at Wanganui in 1871— 'Armed Constabulary v. Wanganui. The game was played twenty a side, and a trough and tumble it proved. The A.C.’s had an advantage in weight and on the other hand Wanganui had had 'iinore practice together. . A. feature of the game was the terrific charges of I'. a worthy member of the A.C. team. '•Roche (now, I think, of New PlyIfiiouth), who at one felbswoop arrested • and downed his opponents in singles, twos and threes. Wanganui treated us hospitably and played a return match at Paten.’’ Reporting on the play in the intercollege matches last month, a Wellington weekly sporting paper, New Zealand Sportsman, pays a. tribute to the standard generally and compliments specially among the forwards Desmond ' , Rvan, of the Wellington College team, who played wing forward. The 1 writer says Ryan’s play was particularly bright all through the series. He ; proved himself a wing forward of the most reliable, dashing and capable • type.” Desmond is a son of Mr. G. H. Ryan, of Hawera, and evidently is following in his dad’s footsteps. The 'latter was 'Wing forward for Taranaki in the late nineties, and also originator . -and captain of the Star Football Club (New Plymouth). In a par, “Stars in collision,” the same paper refers to the origin of a 'dub which at one time made football history in Wellington, the ex-Melrose -Club, previously the White Stars. This team, in the eighties, used to regu- . larly play the Red Stars of Mastertou. Amongst the players in the White Stars ’ were Jack Emjinett, now of Hawera and an ex-Wellington and) Wairarapa rep.; Jack Campbell, formerly of HaEjverai and an ex-Wellington and Taranaki rep. .’ Another team which in those days regularly went from Wellington to play in Masterton, Grey town or Car- , - .terton* was the Oriental, from whose ' , ranks later came Fred Roberts, the • aradc- half of the 1905 All Blacks. t ; Kaikorai had (in 1897) a fine set of • forwards—Duncan was a host in him--2 self—Armit a top-notch three-quarter, and Keogh a great half-back (writes “J. 8.” in the Dunedin Star). He was strong, as slippery as an eel, and , for his agility in hurdling an opponent he was niek-named the steeplechaser. Duncan, who ought to know, ' said: “Keogh was a football genius; tricks—he was full, of them, and. l tricks that scored. You never knew what he was going to do. I don’t think he knew himself what he was- going to do till he came to do it.” Pat was a rough diamond, hut he was the greatest halfback New Zealand has ever pro--1 vdueed. Cipi - THE N.S.W. TEAM. • p' • *•* " By common consent the mateh at ! New Plymouth was voted one of the '-‘best seen in Taranaki for a very long ! 'time. The visitors at once set, the . /standard 1 by opening out play in all iparts of the field, andi they did not to -pass in their own twenty-,’-‘“fives, and closer to the line if they 5 thought it wise, following the oftirepeated adage that “attack is often / the best defence. ’-’ Their five-eighth and .four three-quarters made a formidable line of attack, and it says .. much for the- defence on the local “ side that they did not score oftener. •Getting the ball oftener as they did from the scrum, they, made very good .use of it and gave spectators a scries of rare thrills. Lawton played a great game and was well backed up by the men behind him. The short passes of the players were very effective. Morrissey’s kicking was a feature of that . ’part of the game. The three-two-three appeared to act remarkably well ;in s6rum -work and enabled the backs ■ to get more than their half of the ball. ‘ The forwards alike, were splendid in their loose rushes and bn the'line. In ; the rushes they appeared generally to be all there instead of leaving.the woif to two or three. Consequently they were, the - more dangerous. ;■ PLAY, OF THE COAST TEAM. ■ ■ This match was one of the few occasions this season when Taranaki backs .appeared to.have confidence in. themselves to carry on their passing rushes instead of kicking as has so often been ‘.done in previous matches. It is the game and pays all the time, provided the players have pace and dash. Kicking -is often, an acknowledgment of -weakness, and gives possession too often to the other sidie. The passing ..Was on the whole nippy and clean and -taken a.t the gallop. It was the best Iput up in a match by Taranaki players this season on a local ground. It is to be hoped that tEe 7 results will in- : duce Taranaki rep. players and club players also to fofrter the style of play shown last 'Saturday. Spectators have not seen half enough of it in this sea•son’s matches. RUGBY IN AUSTRALIA. . In conversation with a Star representative, a member of the New South Wales team, said he considered South-•land-Otago the best team they had met, although they won the, match against. ■: the Southerners. Talking of Rugby on the other side, 'he said that it- was making steady strides, 1 but that League was the game which drew the crowds. The latter dTew crowds of twenty-five thousand where Rugby would have eight to ten thousand. Rugby was attracting large numbers of boys just left school. Over there, however, they did not get mueh real football weather, sometimes only two months, and this militated against

the winter games. There were, he added, seme promising backs in Sydney, and one who promised to be as good) as the best now playing. SCHOOL FOOTBALL. “I don’t think the presence of spectators makes any difference to boys playing football,” said Mr. G. J. Lancaster, headmaster of the Christchurch Boys’ High School, at the annual reunion of old boys of the school on Saturday night. He added that some time ago he took a team of lightweights from the school to play at Methven. They were beaten by a heavier team by 13 points to 12. The whole countryside turned out to see the match, but this made no difference to the, boys, who played just as if they had been on their own ground. He had seen good football played with no spectators, and good football before, 10,000 spectators, and he had seen bad football under both conditions. Word has been received (says the Sun) from the Poneke Football Club to the effect that their senior team will be unn,ble to come to Christchurch to meet Old Boys on September 19, as they have already arranged to go to Auckland to play Ponsonby, winners of the senior championship in the northern city. REFEREE’S TRAGIC DEATH. Tragedy was associated with the Queensland v. New South Wales Rugby League match in Brisbane last week. During an interval a short match was played between sides represnting Ipswieh and, Brisbane referees, and the game was controlled by E. Hooper, a. former prominent referee, who was visiting Queensland -with the New South Wales team. After the match, which lasted for 10' to 12 minutes, lie' went into a bathroom, stood under the shower, and collapsed, death following immediately. Hooper was aged 54 years, and was a life member of the New South Wales Rugby League, and refereed the first Rugby League games played in Australasia.